Louisville star center Gorgui Dieng will miss Saturday night’s showdown vs. No. 5 Duke because of an injury to his left wrist.

Dieng sustained the injury in the first half of Friday night’s Battle 4 Atlantis semifinal win over Missouri but played through the pain. The wrist stiffened up overnight, though.

Louisville big man Gorgui Dieng will sit out his team's matchup against Duke with an ankle injury. (AP Photo)

Louisville officials didn’t disclose the official diagnosis of the injury or how long he might be out, only that he would not play Saturday night.

It’s a bigger loss than his statistics would suggest. Dieng, a 6-11 native of Senegal, is averaging 8.2 points, 8.0 rebounds, 2.0 blocks and 1.6 steals per game.

He is the anchor of the Louisville defense. He is such a shot-blocking presence that it allows his teammates to defend more tightly on the perimeter, knowing he’s behind them to clean up mistakes. His block stats are down this year because fewer opponents are willing to challenge him.

Louisville now will have a much tougher time dealing with Duke star center Mason Plumlee, who is averaging a double-double (20.4 points, 10.6 rebounds) this season.

Zach Price, a 6-10 sophomore from Cleveland, will start in Dieng’s place. It’ll be quite the test for Price, who has scored only one point and grabbed five rebounds in 28 minutes of action this season.